Loom for weaving pile fabrics.



No. 727,521. PATENTED MAY 5, 1903.-

M. J. WHITTALL.

LOOM FOR WEAVING PILE FABRICS.

APPiIUATION IILED JUNE 26, 1902. N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Int/(3711501 JIJZJ/ztiialk UNTTE SrATEs Patented May 5, 1 903.

MATTHEXV' J. ,WHITTALL, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

LOOM FOR WEAVING PILE FABRICS.

srEcIFIoATIoN forming art of Letters Pate'ntNo. 727,521, dated May 5, 1903.

Application filed June 26. 1902- Serial No- 1l3,291. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MATTHEW J.WH1TTALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Loom for Weaving Pile Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of looms which are employed for weaving Brussels and Wilton carpets or similar pile fabrics.

The especial object of this invention is to provide a loom which will substantially reproduce the design of the surface of the fabric at the back thereof and which will produce a fabric .in which the surfacethreads are more firmly tied in place than in fabrics of this class as heretofore woven.

To these ends this invention consists of the loom and of the combinations of parts therein, as hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings, Figure 1 is a rearview of sufficient parts of a loom to illustrate the application of my invention thereto. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the construction of the lifter-board. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the gearing for operating the parts. The crank-shaft and main cam-shaft are shown in this figure in the position occupied in the Crossley loom. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the connections and one of the cams for, raising the lifter-board. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and

9 are fragmentary perspective views illustrating the operation of the loom, Fig. 5

showing the position of the parts when the lifter-board is in its lowest position, Fig. 6 showing the position of the parts when some of the figuring-warps have been raised by the jacquard and the remainder of the figuringwarps have been raised by the lifter-board, Fig. 7 showing the position of the parts when the guide-boards have been shifted, Fig. 8

showing the position of the parts when the sired ones from a number of dilferently-colored figuring-warps. In this class of fabrics widely-varied designs may be shown on the faces of the fabrics; but the backs of this class of fabrics have heretofore been left ontirely plain or have had simply such accidental variations as have resulted from the indiscriminate showing of the bunches of variouslycolored figuringwarpsthat is to say, at the back of ordinary Brussels and Wilton carpets as they have heretofore been manufactured, in addition to the cotton-chain warps and cotton-filling threads, the figuringwarps will be shown, but will not appear in any particular sequence. This is particularly noticeable where the number of frames of the fabric is larger than the number of colors in the design. For example, when a twocolor design is being woven in a six-frame carpet the required colors must be employed in two of the frames, while the warps for the remaining frames can be supplied with any'yarn which happens to be on hand without regard to its color, such other warps not being shown on the face of the fabric. The warps which are put in to run with those figuring-warps which are displayed on the surface of the fabric are, however, equally exposed at the back of the carpet, and it results from this that the backs of Brussels and Wilton carpets as now woven are extremely unattractive, while in making carpets which are identical in design and coloring there is no certainty that different pieces will have the same appearance on the back. Furthermore, it is extremely desirable that the piles of surface-threadsshonld'be tied in place as firmly aspossible, the life of fabrics of this class depending to a considerable-extent on the secur'ene'ss with which the surface-threads are tied into the chain or body of the fabric.

The especial object of the present inven tion is to provide a loom for weaving carpets or other fabrics of the class referred to which will substantially reproduce the design of the fabric on the back thereof and in which the surface-threads will be more securely fastened or tied than in fabrics of this class which have heretofore been made. To accomplish these objects in a loom constructed according to this invention, each figuring-warp after it has been called or lifted to form part of the surface of the fabric is then dropped down into the lower shed, while the lifting mechanism still holds the rest of the figuring-warps in the upper shedthat is to say, each-figuringwarp' after being brought up to appear on the surface of the fabric is then carried through to the back of the fabric and is shown there separated from the other figuring-warps before being again associated therewith. It results from this that the pattern of the fabric will be substantially reproduced on the back, and the surface-threads will be more securely tied in place than in fabrics of this class as heretofore manufactured.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a detail description of sufficient parts of a loom to illustrate the application of my invention thereto, as shown in Fig. 1, L and L designate the strings or lingo connections, each of which is weighted at its lower end and carries a heddle-eye for receiving one of the figuring-warps. The lingo-strings L and L are connected at their upper ends to the jacquard mechanism or other selecting appliances which raise the desired ones of the figuringwarps to form the piles of the fabric. The selecting appliances or jacquard mechanisms which raise the lingoes L to select the warps which are to appear on the face of the fabric may be of any ordinary or usual construction and need not, therefore, be herein shown or described at length. Each of the lingostrings is provided with a knot or enlargement 10, which normally stand above the lifter-board B. In the ordinary construction of looms of this class the holes through the lifter-board are small enough to prevent the knots from dropping down through the same. Inalifter-boardconstructedaccording to this invention special-shaped holes are bored, which are large enough to permit the knots 10 to drop down below the lifter-board at certain times in the operation. The shape of the holes bored in the lifter-board is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. As shown in this figure, the lifter-board B is provided with a hole substantially 8 shape in cross-section for each of the lingo-threads L. One section 11 of each 8-shaped hole is of sufficient diameter to permit a knot 10 to drop down through the same, while the other section 12 is sufficiently small in diameter to prevent the knot 10 from dropping down through the same. The holes 11 and 12 are connected by a comparatively narrow neck or slot, and the hole 12 is preferably slightly countersunk to form a socket for a knot 10 to rest in. Extending down from the lifter--board B are the operating-arms 13, which are connected at their lower ends to pivoted levers 14,. as shown most clearly in Fig.- 4, and the pivoted levers 14 are provided with rollers engaging cams 15 upon the main cam-shaft 16 of. the loom..

Cooperating with the lifter-board as thus constructed are suitable guiding devices for guiding the lingo connections, so that'they normally will stand in the smaller section 12 of the holes through the lifter-board, but under certain conditions guiding certain ones of the lingo connections so that their knots 10 will drop down through the larger holes 11. These guiding devices comprise a lower guide-board G, which may be mounted on the frame of the loom in any suitable manner, so that it may be free to be moved longitudinally. Above the lifter-board B is an upper guide-board H. The upper guide-board H is connected to the lifter-board by links 22, and secured on the upper guide-board H are studs 23, which extend out through slotted brackets 24, extending up from the lower guideboard G. By means of this construction the upper guide-board H will moveup and down with the lifter-board B, but will be. shifted longitudinally in unison with the lower guideboard G. The lower guide-board G is connected at one end by a link 17 to a pivoted lever 18. The pivoted lever 18 is moved in one direction by a cam 19 on the wire-motion shaft 20 and is moved in the opposite direction by a spring 21.

Fig. 3 shows a top plan view of sufficient parts of the gearing to illustrate the relative positions of the cam 19 and the cams 15, which operate the lifter-board. As shown in this figure, designates the main shaft of the loom, which ordinarily has crank-sections for operating the lay. Secured on the shaft 25 is a pinion 26, which meshes with and drives a gear 27, secured on the main cam-shaft 16. At its end the shaft 25 is provided with a bevel-pinion 28, which drives a bevel-gear 29, fastened on the end of the wire-motion shaft 20.

The operation of a loom constructed according to this invention can be most readily understood from the diagrams shown on the second sheet of drawings.

As shown in Fig. 5, the lifter-board B is at the lower end of its stroke, and the guideboards G and H are in position to hold the lingo connections L in the smallerholes 12 of the lifterboard. Then the parts are in this position, the jacquard mechanism or other selecting devices raise certain ones of the lingo connections to bring up the desired figuringwarps required for the pattern which is being woven, and at or about the same time the lifter-board B rises, as shown in Fig. 6, carwill bend or flex the lingo connections, so that the lingo connections L which have been called or selected by the jacquard will be carried out into the larger holes 1]; but inasmuch as the knots 10 of the remainder of the lingo connections are at this time restingin the countersunk recesses of the smaller holes 12 they will retain their position in such smaller holes 12 and will not be carried over by the motion of the guide-boards. At the next operation, as illustrated in Fig. 8, the selected lingo connections L will be released or allowed to drop down by the jacquard, and inasmuch as these connections or strings now stand in the larger holes 11 the knots 10 will drop down through the lifter-board B-that is to say, when the parts are in this position the figuring warps which have just been brought up into the surface of the fabric will now be dropped down into the lower shed, while the lifter-board still holds the remainder of the figuring-warps in the upper shed. It follows from this that each figuring-warp after being selected or drawn up to show on the surface of the fabric is thereafter carried down and exposed at the back of the fabric separated from the remainder of the figuringwarps. The lifter-board B then returns to its lower position, as shown in Fig. 9, and thereafter the parts resume the position illustrated in Fig. 5 preparatory to repeating the operations.

The jacquard mechanism for selecting the warp-threads which are to appear on the face of the fabric, the wire-motion for inserting and withdrawing the pile-wires over which the figuring-warps are woven, the harnessinotion for shifting the cotton chain-warps which run with the figuring-warps, and the picker-motion for laying the weft-threads through the shed may be of the ordinary or usual constructions and have not, therefore, been herein shown or describedat length. It is to be understood, however, that these parts may be differently timed or operated. For example, three picks may be made for each pile which is woven when it is desired to produce a three-shot fabric, or two picks only may be made between each pile when it is desired to produce a two-shot fabric.

I am aware that numerous changes may be made in the construction of my loom by those who are skilled in the art Without departing from'the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims. For example, in equipping some looms according to my invention I have omitted the upper guide-board and its connections, although in practice I prefer to use both guide-boards in order to insure reliable operation. I do not wish, therefore, to be limited to the construction I have herein shown and described; but

/Vhat I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, the combination of lingo connections for controlling figuring-warps, and a lifting mechanism for lifting all the lingo connections which have not been selected to form a pile, said lifting mechanism being constructed to permit the selected lingo connections to drop their warps down into the lower shed while still holding up the rest of said lingo connections, whereby the selected warps will be shown at the back of the fabric separated from the other figuring-warps.

2. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, the combination of a lifter-board, lingo connections passing through holes in the lifter-board, and means for guiding the lingo connections so that the knots or enlargements of those lingo connections which have called figuring-warps to form a pile will drop down through the lifter-board, whereby the selected warps will be shown at the back of the fabrics separated from the other figuringwarps.

3. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, the combination of a lifter-board having a series of small holes therein, each of said holes being connected with a hole of larger diameter, lingo connections passing through said holes, and means for guiding the lingo connections so that those lingo connections which have called figuring-warps to form a pile will be moved into the larger holes while the rest of the lingo connections will remain in the smaller holes.

4. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, the combination of a lifter-board having a series of small holes bored therein, each of said small holes being connected to ahole of larger diameter, lingo connections having knots small enough to drop down through the larger holes, but too large to drop down through the smaller holes, and means for guiding the lingo connections so that those lingo connections which have called figuring-warps to form a pile will be moved into the larger holes, while the rest of the lingo connections remain in the smaller holes.

5. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, the combination of a lifter-board, having a series of small holes therein, each of said holes being connected to a larger hole, lingo connections passing through said holes, and having knots small enough to drop down through the larger holes, but too large to pass through smaller holes, means for raising the lifterboard to pick up the knots of all the rest of the lingo connections which have not called up figuring-warps to form a pile, and guiding devices for laterally deflecting the lingo connections, said guiding devices acting to move the lingo connections which have called figuring-warps over into the larger holes of the lifter-board while the knots of all the rest of the lingo connections will retain such lingo connections in the smaller holes.

6. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, the combination of a lifter-board, lingo connections passing through the lifterboard, a guide-board,and means for shifting the guideboard, so that the knots of those lingo connections which have called figuring-warps to form a pile may be dropped down through the lifter-board.

7. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, the combination of a lifter-board, a guide-board,

too

lingo connections passing through the lifterboard and. guide-board, means for raising the lifter-board, and means for shifting the guideboard to move thelingo connections that have called figuring-warps to form a pile into position so that their knots may be then dropped down through the lifter-board.

8. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, 'the combination of a lifter-board having a series of small holes therein, each of said small holes being connected to a larger hole, a guideboard, lingo connections passing through the holes in the lifter-board and through holes in the guide-board, and having knots or enlargements small enough to pass through the larger holes of the lifter-board, but too large to pass through thesmaller holes of the lifter-board, and means for moving the guide-board to move the lingo connections which have calledup warp-threads to form part of a pile into the largerholes of the lifter-board, while the I rest of the lingo connections are retained in the smaller holes through the lifter-board.

9. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics, the combination of a lifter-board, a transverselymovable lower guide-board, an upper guide- Vboard movable with the lifter-board, means for raising and lowering the lifter-board, and means for shifting the guide-boards to move the lingo connections which have called-up figuring-warps to form a pile into position, so that their knots may drop down through the lifter-board.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

V MATTHEW J. WHITTALL.

Witnesses:

PHILIP W. SOUTHGATE, JOHN F. CRowELL'. 

